Jon Voight and Kimberly Fletcher Interview - Our American Story

Hi, this is Kimberly Fletcher, founder and president of Moms4America, and I just wanted to tell you about our American story. So I thought the best way to do that was to bring on my friend John Voigt, who is the co-author, co-creator, co-producer, so that we could tell you why this was so important to us and why we want to share it with you. First of all, the two of us go back a little bit because I've been with you on several occasions. You're always very active. When anything comes up that needs a little push, you stand up. And then I stand up too, and I look over and it's you. You know what I mean? So I say, well, we're here together. Let's do the best we can. And I'm an actor. I'm a storyteller. So that's where I go to first, of course. And the story of our country is amazing. Unfortunately, the children have not been taught the history of their great country for many years now. That's one of the things about the schools when they do talk about history that just frustrates me because it's so boring. They talk about tedious dates and events, but they don't tell the story of what's the people behind it or the incredible things that happened that led to who we are. That's what I wanted to change. I wanted to tell that story. Right. So we agreed and we broke it down into little segments. And the idea from the beginning was that we would create something that we could give to people across the country in their local area for this 250th anniversary. And we went to work on it, always thinking that we were going to allow other people to participate and do it their own way, but have the basic story, the exciting, the magnificent story of our country told in a lovely way. So they have the script. When we were talking about it, I had an excerpt, not the whole entire speech of Ben Franklin. And I thought we needed to cut it down because we'll have to keep it in a time. And you were like, no, we have to have the whole speech. And I was like, well, that could take the whole segment. And you said, well, it should. And then you said, and I need to be Ben Franklin. I didn't initially want to be Ben Franklin. I offered it to Mike Douglas because he had played Ben Franklin. Physically, I'm not Ben Franklin. You know, they said, why don't you do it, John? And then I came to you. I said, no, I'll do it. And I had this idea that we might be able to do it with AI now, you know, do something fun for people to see. I've seen it probably 30 times now. And every time I get choked up, you did such an incredible job. And Prager University was awesome. They stepped in and they put it together for us. But I'll tell you, the thing that that swells within my heart every time I see it is when you come back from being Ben Franklin and you can see the true emotion within you and what that experience meant. When we did the world premiere of this show in Utah, when it hit to that point, there were people all around me, tears in their eyes, just filled with emotion from what they had just experienced and the emotion that you brought to it. There's nobody who could have done that as well as you. So I'm glad it was you. So hopefully that's what you say. But anyway, everything that we did, I mean, it was really remarkable what you took on. Amazing. And all the other actors did such a good job. We had Kirk Cameron. It was your idea for Gary to do World War Two. And he did an excellent job. And then I came to you and I said, like, literally, it was like a week before we were going to the world premiere. And I was like, we need one more person. And you're like, who do you want? And I'm like, Kelsey Grammer. What do you want to do? I want to do the revolution. He nailed it. He nailed it. Just every single one of you, when you came and did your part in this show, it was the right person for every part. Talk about the enthusiasm of the actors. And I agree with you. We all had a very personal stake in what we said and the pieces that we chose to do. And you have this tremendous enthusiasm and eloquence to be able to express what we did and how to get this to the people across the country. And now we can create, we have created this. So not only do we give the script to communities across the country, but we can give them these elements that we created, the musical scores, the video productions from each of these actors for us to be able to take it across the country as part of the US 250 tour, because a lot of people are asking us to do that. September 17th, Constitution Day, we are holding a red carpet premiere of Our American Story in Dallas, Texas. And I'm very excited about this because we're going to be able to share it so that schools and communities across the country know it's available to you. They can come to this website, get the information and go produce it, present it, share it in your own community. Beautifully said, my dear. You know, I've been for a long, for the folks who are listening, I've been a big fan of yours. And I love it when you speak, you know, when I go to these events, and you always say, John, say a few words, and I say a few words, but I always wait for you to speak because you speak directly from the heart with tremendous enthusiasm. You're never without the words to express your true feelings. And you're very moving, you know, you really touch everybody's hearts. And the people who are listening now will get the message that they can have this wonderful thing that we've worked very hard on in their own community. To be able to present it, where you can weave in the music with the story and the actors and the historic characters coming to life, there's no end to the possibilities with this. And I just want to see it flood the nation. When we first showed this in public, I had all these families that were coming up and saying, we so need this. And they weren't talking about just them, they were talking about our country. Like, our country so needs this, the people of the country. We're hungering for truth, we're hungering for light, we're hungering for happiness and joy. And it's like everything just seems to be this dark cloud. And so they were so excited and overwhelmed with the presentation of the show. But my favorite was this little boy, I don't know, he's like six or seven years old. And he came up to me, and he pulled on my dress, and he said, this is the greatest thing I ever seen. That's what it's about. So bring it to your community. That's really what John and I want. If you're watching this, I hope you can feel our heart and our passion, why we felt this was so important. We wanted to make it available to your community. And the script, you can just license, there's no charge. It's our250story.com. It is our story, our250story.com. And you can get all the information on how you can have this in your community. And we just want to give it to you so that you can perform it, produce it, present it, share it. And so that the American story continues. And we have another 250 years. That's what this is about. That's good. Well, so well said. Yeah, listen to this woman, folks. She's the real heart of America, this one. It's great to work with you. You've done so much for the country, really, in Moms for America. And you stood up every time someone needed to be helped. You were right there. Anybody who has come your way and, you know, rubbed shoulders with you and stood with you at different times, really so appreciates what you've done, Kimberly. God bless you. Thank you. Thank you. And people see you finally. And I see the way I've seen you. And you are a powerhouse. And it's not just speaking. You're not just a person who goes and speaks. You're out there. And, you know, you'll do whatever is necessary. So you're the perfect person to get us back on track. Anyway. Thank you, sir. It's been a joy and a pleasure working with you on this project. This should go on for another 250 years. God bless America. God bless America. Hey, kiddo. Love you. Love you, Kim. Love you.